Composer James Horner confirmed dead after plane crash

Composer James Horner, who crafted scores for a number of classics over the years such as GLORY, BRAVEHEART, APOLLO 13 and TITANIC, died Monday morning at 61 when the aircraft he was piloting went down outside of Santa Barbara. The plane was registered under Horner's name but identification was only recently made and then confirmed by his assistant, Sylvia Patrycja.

James Horner's assistant, Sylvia Patrycja, on his passing:

A great tragedy has struck my family today, and I will not be around for a while. I would like some privacy and time to heal. We have lost an amazing person with a huge heart, and unbelievable talent. He died doing what he loved. Thank you for all your support and love and see you down the road. Love Sylvia.

Any death is a hard loss, but when it comes to some in the entertainment industry, it's usually a hard loss for many. There may not be a lot of composers everyone will know off the top of their head, but Horner wrote some beautiful scores that stuck with the mainstream consciousness. From STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN to ALIENS to AN AMERICAN TAIL to AVATAR and beyond, he wrote music that inspired us. He knew how to crank up the adrenaline and the emotional factor to give films that heightened sense of reality that we all love. We may not have all known him personally, but we all know and love his work.

James Horner has three films yet to be released that he's already written the music for. First up is Antoine Fuqua's SOUTHPAW, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, which will hit on July 24th. Following that will be Jean-Jacques Annaud's WOLF TOTEM, due to hit on September 11th. Lastly, we have Patricia Riggen's THE 33, which will be released on November 13th.

Our hearts go out to his family, his friends, and everyone else who shared an emotional experience because of his music. Rest in peace, James Horner.

I'll forever remember watching GLORY in middle school and being absolutely devastated by the ending, and unable to shake the music playing over the end credits.